Opener ‘The Bending of Blood’ is sullen and dingy, horns and voices blaring just out of reach. The found sound and music meld together to form a nighttime street scene that cuts off just before it would reveal any more. This opening snippet establishes the unshakable mystique of 11 Points in Time. ‘The End’ follows this with a tense guitar motif and strings that painfully wilt below the rounded vocal delivery. Much of the album has this sinister presence piercing it, feeling as though it could accompany a thriller movie.
However, that isn’t all that 11 Points in Time has to offer. ‘Mirrors’ is akin to recalling a tainted memory of quiet reprieve. Whilst the dark undercurrents constantly lap at the album’s feet, it is fully capable of conjuring this faint comfort, as though watching lo-fi footage of intimate moments. The closing track, ‘Ashes of Experience’, has this bittersweet warmth to it, just barely out of touching distance; watching the sunrise as you freeze to death.
11 Points in Time’s scenes from a life come together to represent the incomplete picture of an unsolved mystery. ‘Red Lights’ is a nocturnal voyage past thriving clubs, ‘O’ Red Planet’ is a tumble down a bottomless rabbit hole, ‘Data Dada’ is a cyberpunk dirge – not all of it lands, for me, but it makes up an undeniably interesting project. The approach to collating these moments into song is fascinating, and while I personally find the instrumental explorations more rewarding (though I can’t deny ‘Red Lights’ hits the exact right balance), the album as a whole is a cohesive and well-crafted effort, haunted by an enthralling mystery.
DRIFT: 11 Points in Time – Out 10th November 2023 (God Unknown Records)